Flagstaff is a city in and the county seat of Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2015, the city’s estimated population was 70,320. Flagstaff’s combined metropolitan area has an estimated population of 139,097. The city is named after a ponderosa pine flagpole made by a scouting party from Boston (known as the “Second Boston Party”) to celebrate the United States Centennial on July 4, 1876. Flagstaff lies near the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, along the western side of the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in the continental United States. Flagstaff is next to Mount Elden, just south of the San Francisco Peaks, the highest mountain range in the state of Arizona. Humphreys Peak, the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet (3,851 m), is about 10 miles (16 km) north of Flagstaff in Kachina Peaks Wilderness. read more…

Ann Arbor is a city in Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, with a population of 114,000, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. Ann Arbor is home to the University of Michigan. The university significantly shapes Ann Arbor’s economy as it employs about 30,000 workers, including about 12,000 in the medical center. The city’s economy is also centered on high technology, with several companies drawn to the area by the university’s research and development infrastructure. Ann Arbor was founded in 1824, named for wives of the village’s founders, both named Ann, and the stands of bur oak trees. The University of Michigan moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor in 1837, and the city grew at a rapid rate in the early to mid-20th century. During the 1960s and 1970s, the city gained a reputation as a center for left-wing politics. Ann Arbor became a focal point for political activism, such as opposition to the Vietnam War and support for the legalization of cannabis. read more…

Duval Street is a downtown commercial zoned street in Key West, Florida, running north to south from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, just over 1.25 miles in length. It is named for William Pope Duval, the first territorial governor of Florida. A 1967 National Park Service (NPS) survey of Historic American Buildings designated 18 buildings as historic. A full six blocks were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Further protection for this historically significant street has been created through the City’s, “Historic Architecture Guidelines,” approved in 2000, which sets standards for construction on Duval Street. read more…